INEC: FCT Polling Units Split in Feb. 2022

*Nigerians can’t trust Amupitan with 2027 elections, declares Odinkalu

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that the polling units in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were split in February 2022.

Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, in a statement stated that, the Commission observed that some voters experienced difficulties locating their designated polling units on election day. 

However, he stressed that contrary to claims in some quarters that voters were migrated to new or different polling units shortly before the election, the Commission stated that no voter was migrated in 2026.

“Further to its statement issued on Sunday, 22nd February 2026, on the conduct of the February 21 Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Commission provides the following additional clarification regarding the issue of split polling units.

 “Under its Expansion of Voters’ Access to Polling Units initiative, the Commission in 2022 created over 56,000 additional polling units nationwide, increasing the total number of polling units from 119,972 to over 176,000.

“In order to populate the newly created polling units, many of which had zero registered voters at the time, 6.7 million voters were migrated from about 12,000 congested polling units to approximately 17,000 less congested polling units across the country. 

“In the FCT specifically, 411 polling units were decongested, with about 580,000 voters redistributed to 1,156 polling units.

“The Commission notes that no new voter migration was carried out in 2026. The split polling units referenced in recent discussions were created in February 2022 and not in 2026.

“For clarity, split polling units are additional voting points and BVAS devices deployed to ease voter accreditation and fast-track voting in large polling units with more than 1,250 registered voters.”

Oketola pointed out that the objective was to enhance orderliness, reduce overcrowding and improve the overall voting experience. 

These split units, he noted, were located only a few metres away from the original polling units and remained within the same premises.

“To further assist voters, the Commission provides an online Polling Unit Locator available at https://cvr.inecnigeria.org/pu. 

“The Polling Unit Locator enables voters to confirm their polling unit by selecting their State, Local Government Area, Registration Area (Ward) and Polling Unit,” Oketola stressed.

Meanwhile, human rights activist and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has said Nigerians could not trust INEC, under the chairmanship of Professor Joash Amupitan, to conduct credible and hitch-free elections in 2027.

According to him, the poor handling of the just-concluded Area Councils’ elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was a pointer that easily cast doubts on its ability to manage and deliver a transparent, free and fair process going forward.

Speaking when he appeared on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, to assess INEC’s handling of election logistics during the FCT election, Odinkalu said: “INEC failed. Amupitan’s INEC failed woefully. On this evidence, nobody can trust Joash Amupitan to organise credible elections in 2027.”

According to him, the shortcomings recorded during the FCT council elections were not primarily legal issues but administrative failures, adding: “There’s nothing else to it; it is not about the law. It is about the failure of will, the failure of electoral administration.”

The professor of law and writer stated that it was imperative for electoral officials to either prepare adequately for their responsibilities or step aside for others, who were capable of doing the job with great diligence and transparency.

Reacting to arguments in certain quarters that it might be too early to judge the INEC Chairman, who only assumed office late last year, Odinkalu said Amupitan had prior experience, having overseen the November 8, 2025 governorship election in Anambra State.

Describing INEC’s handling of election logistics in the FCT as poorly coordinated, the critic slammed the electoral umpire for reassigning voters to new polling units without proper notification on election day, noting that the unfortunate development disenfranchised many eligible voters and prevented them from performing their civic duty as citizens